The Old Building
by hanily
Summary: Ianto has been sucked into the past. In between getting married, taking baths and dancing, he needs to figure out how to get home...
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Old Building  
**Characters**: Ianto, Jack and Gwen  
**Summary**: "_he felt a soft caress on his face and a voice whispering Ianto."_  
**Spoilers:** "Exit Wounds" and a teeny one for "Countrycide"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own them… But a girl can want, right?

A/N: Totally un-Betaed, so all mistakes are mine.

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A/N I'm not sure whether or not to carry this on, it just kind of came out of nowhere. But still enjoy!

It was late November and Ianto was stood, in the freezing cold, outside of a large, ancient building. He, Jack and Gwen had all been following different signals when the rift had decided to be particularly brutal. They were low on numbers after Owen and Tosh and so they had all gone out alone. He double checked his GPS system and looked back at the building. He rolled his eyes, _how cliché, _he thought to himself.

The building was black and almost faded into the shadows, he had to squint to see where the building ended and the darkness began. It was three stories as far as he could tell and the windows, boarded and broke, watched over him as he took a few hesitant steps forward. The closer he got the more he could see and the more his GPS beeped. _Definitely inside then, _he thought as he grasped his gun. You could never be too careful. He had reached the door, which was easily 8 foot and thick oak, and he cautiously pushed it open.

Inside was, if it was possible, darker than the outside and Ianto needed to use his torch, which did little to ease his tension and alleviate the darkness. He quickly surveyed the interior, finding it every bit as creepy as the outside, keeping his gun trained in front of him. His GPS was beeping wildly now so, remembering Jack's instructions he contacted him straight away. He tapped his Bluetooth.

"Jack it's Ianto, I've found the source. It's inside this old, creepy house. I'm inside now, so I'm going to see if I can find the source, okay?"

"That's fine Yan, mine and Gwen's signals disappeared out so we'll come and meet you. Send me the co-ordinates?" Ianto sent them through quickly and efficiently. "Oh and Ianto?"

"Yes sir?"

"Be careful." Jack signed off, leaving Ianto to enter the darkness and search on his own.

He walked towards the dust covered stairs and stopped. He didn't want to go on alone. Something in his sub-conscious was telling him to stop, to wait for Jack and Gwen. He knew he was being ridiculous, he'd done worse than walk up some creaky old stairs, _you've been held at knife point for god sake, and it wasn't even a knife, it was a bloody meat cleaver!_ Shaking off his fear, he started to make his way up the stairs.

_1 Stair_

_2 Stairs._

_3 Sta-_

Ianto stopped suddenly. "Jack?" He shouted out uncertainly, "is that you?" There was no reply. He chastised himself for his own fear and continued up the stairs.

_4 Stairs_

_5 Stairs_

_6 Sta-_

A silhouette shot past his arm, wanting to be known, felt even, but not seen. Ianto stumbled, pulling out his gun and screaming into the dark.

"Who is it? Who's there? Show yourself! I'm not going to run!"

The next thing he knew he was falling and shouting and trying to get a grip on anything, but there was nothing and he hit the ground with a thud. Before succumbing to the darkness he desperately sought, he felt a soft caress on his face and a voice whispering _Ianto_.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N : Here's chapter two! I've never really written anything like this before in my life so please bear with me! Totally un-betaed so all mistakes are mine! Enjoy

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Gwen climbed out of the SUV and looked at the large expanse of nothingness; she'd lost the trail. _Damn._

"I hope Jack and Ianto are having more luck." She said to herself. Deciding that she would be of more use any where else than in this large field full of sheep, she tapped her Bluetooth.

"Hey Jack, listen I've lost the trail and ended up in a very big field"

"_Are you sure there's nothing there? Have you looked around Gwen? We need to be thorough you know."_

"Yes Jack I'm quite aware" She rolled her eyes. "There's nothing here, unless the sheep are planning a cunning invasion, I think we're safe."

"_All right, no need to get all PMS on my ass. I've lost the trail myself come to think of it, my wristband has decided now is the best time to stop working"_

She sniggered; if he thought that was PMS he had a lot to learn about women. "Maybe Ianto had more luck?"

"_Yeah, let's hope this little trip hasn't been a waste of time! Meet me where we said and we'll see if Ianto has got anything"_

"Okay" she replied but he had already signed off. _Cheeky little… _

_

* * *

_

Gwen pulled into the pub's car park 10 minutes later, and glanced around for Jack. She spotted him sat on a bench sipping some sort of green drink. She rolled her eyes; _trust Jack to be drinking when we're on a mission. _

"Hey! You can't be drinking! What if something happens?" She shouted as she strolled over, pulling her coat tight around her as the wind picked up.

"Relax Gwen this is called _a Grasshopper_ and _I_ made sure _they_ made sure there was only a teeny bit of alcohol in it, plus I've been waiting here for you for 10 minutes! What did you expect really?" He flashed her a grin, and she rolled her eyes again.

"Well you could have contacted Ianto, y'know see if he needed any help or had found anything?" He looked sheepishly at her, then suddenly tapped his Bluetooth.

"_Jack it's Ianto, I've found the source. It's inside this old, creepy house. I'm inside now, so I'm going to see if I can find the source, okay?"_

"That's fine Yan, mine and Gwen's signals disappeared out so we'll come and meet you. Send me the co-ordinates?" He signalled for Gwen to type them in the Sat Nav. "Oh and Ianto?"

"_Yes Sir?"_

"Be careful" Jack signed off and stood up. Brushing any dirt off of his great coat he began to walk towards the SUV.

"Jack, what about your drink?" Gwen asked as he jumped into the car beside her.

"Well Ianto needs us and he's far more important that a silly little drink." They smiled at each other and Jack continued, "plus that was my second" He grinned. Gwen sighed and pulled out of the car park to start following co-ordinates.

* * *

The SUV came to a stop outside of an ancient house. Jack jumped out and pulled out his pistol. _Better to be safe than sorry _he thought. Gwen followed close behind after locking the SUV; they didn't want a repeat of the cannibals.

"Did he say he was going inside?" She whispered to Jack as they neared the house. Jack simply nodded and continued to edge forward cautiously. "He's braver than I am" Gwen mumbled to herself, earning a glare from Jack. They had come to a stop outside of the large oak door.

"Okay now make sure you keep alert Gwen just in ca-"Jack was cut off by the sounds of Ianto's desperate shouts.

"_Who is it? Who's there? Show yourself! I'm not going to run!"_

Gwen and Jack glanced at each other in surprise and that's when they heard the loud crash and thud. They wasted no more time and stormed through the door.

The first thing Gwen saw was Ianto lying crumpled at the bottom of the stairs and the second thing she saw was the large black mass that seemed to hover over him.

_Ianto_

A voice echoed through the house and Jack and Gwen looked at each other in alarm, before running to Ianto's side. Gwen started to fuss over Ianto and checked his pulse. "I think he's going to be okay, probably a big bump on his head I'd say"

Jack heard her but did not answer; his attention was drawn to the black shape. He had noticed that the black mass had moved but hadn't disappeared. It hovered silently in the corner as though watching them. A shiver ran down his spine.

A low moan broke through his thoughts and his attention was then directed at the half unconscious man in front of them.

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So there it is! Please give me some feedback :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Seriously thank you for everybody who reviewed! You guys are really my inspiration for continuing this.

This as you know is completely un-betaed so all mistakes are mine! Disclaimer is in the first chapter

Enjoy!

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Ianto's mind was swirling in a deep abyss of memories. _Moving to London, falling in love with Lisa, Canary Wharf, Jack, Susie, Owen, Tosh, Gwen, Jack, Jack, Jack._

"_I think he's going to be okay, probably a big bump on his head I'd say." _He vaguely heard Gwen say. He wanted to reply and reassure her that is was in fact fine, but all he could muster was a moan, and then Jack was speaking to him in hushed, hurried tones.

"Ianto, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Ianto replied with another low moan and cracked his eyes open. Above him he could see Gwen who gave him a huge grin and Jack whose eyes, although he was smiling showed deep concern. He bent down and gave Ianto a chaste kiss on the lips.

"You had me worried for a moment." He whispered in Ianto's ear before turning to Gwen. "Come on you help me get him up and out of here, and then we can talk about what happened" He shot a look at Ianto, who was looking past him and Gwen and to the door or where the door _had_ been.

"I don't think we'll be leaving that way" Ianto managed to croak out, as he was helped to his feet by a confused Gwen and Jack.

"Gwen, I want you to stay here with Ianto while I go and see if there's a backdoor, or any other way out." Jack whispered quickly. "If I don't come back-" He shushed their protests by pressing his fingers to their lips. "If I don't come back you _know_ I'll be okay. You two stay together no matter what and don't worry about me okay?" Gwen and Ianto nodded solemnly and Jack slowly drew his fingers away from their lips and was gone down the hallway and into the shadows.

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CRASH!

Ianto jumped from where he'd been slouched across Gwen. It had been just over 5 minutes since Jack had left and he had been feeling increasingly worse for wear. He could barely stand so Gwen had suggest that they perch themselves where they had a view of almost the entire room. He turned to see Gwen alert, her eyes darting about trying to find the source of the loud crash. He pulled himself to his knees and felt for his gun at his hip. _Huh, I was sure I had it before. God I must have a really bad concussion. Maybe Jack has taken it. _He tried to reassure himself but he felt Gwen looking at him in concern.

"Ianto, are you okay? You're looking a little pale, but I suppose we are in the dark so…" Gwen trailed off as they heard another loud crash. She jumped to her feet, her gun in front of her. Ianto was slow to follow, needing the wall behind for support.

"Maybe we should go and see what that noise was." Ianto suggested, peering over Gwen's shoulder.

"I don't know you look pretty rough Ianto, you can barely stand! And anyway Jack told us to stay here." Gwen replied. _I can't leave Ianto here alone, but then again anything could be down there and we're just sitting ducks! _Gwen made up her mind.

"Ianto do you think you'll be okay here? I'm going to have to go and see what that noise was. I mean if you want me to stay here with you then I will but-"

"Gwen, cariad it's fine. Go find Jack, two heads or perhaps I should say guns are better than one right?" Gwen nodded. "Well then the sooner you go and find Jack the quicker you can get back."

"Okay, don't move okay Ianto? I'm going to get in enough trouble with Jack and I don't need you going missing as well." She chuckled but Ianto could sense an underlying warning in her words._ Don't go off or I'll kill you myself – with my bare hands!_ He grinned to himself; his impression of Gwen was getting better by the day. "Ianto Jones! Why are you grinning? You're not planning anything are you?" She glared at him, but he could see her eyes twinkling with amusement. Her faced turned serious once again. "Do you have your gun?"

_No. it's just bloody disappeared! _"Yes, what do you take me for Gwen some sort of idiot?"

"No no, sorry Ianto, right I'll be off then!" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and followed Jack's path into the shadows.

* * *

_Hmm. This is nice I suppose, some alone time with my thoughts. Maybe I should be paying attention to the creepy house instead of thinking about last night with Jack. _Ianto grinned and lost himself in his thoughts. He was so absorbed in the night's activities with jack that he didn't notice the atmosphere of the room changing and the temperature cooling. Only when shivers started to wrack his body was he pulled out of his thoughts.

He jumped up quickly and surveyed the area. The room looked incredibly different. The old, dust ridden stairs had been transformed and looked brand new. The polished oak banister, shone and he moved closer. His eyes were drawn above him, where a giant crystal chandelier glistened. He looked down to the floor which looked like it had never been stepped on, so different from the house he had first walked in. _This has got to be my concussion. This can't be real; I'm hallucinating, that's right I'm some sort of coma. That's really the only logical explanation._

Suddenly, a door banged in the distance and Ianto could hear what seemed like hundreds of feet, and they were coming his way.

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Please review. I really enjoy coming home and reading what you guys think of my story!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have no idea where this little bit came from, it was something one of my friends on LJ said I suppose! Thank you for every one of you who have reviewed. It makes my day! Disclaimer is in the first chapter. Totally unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy chapter 4!

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Jack moved through the shadows, gun drawn. He hesitated mid-step. _I should really go back to Ianto _he frowned to himself, and shook off his concerns. _Ianto will be fine, as long as Gwen's there, _he carried on walking. He turned a corner and came face to face with a large door. He slowly lowered his face to the door and pressed his ear against it. _Just being cautious Ianto would kill me if I died again, _he thought to himself, grinning. He twisted the handle slowly and the door opened with a click. He peered around the outside of the door and looked inside. Darkness. He opened the door fully and took a step to get a better view inside. Only he didn't make it. Suddenly, he was falling through the floor boards and hitting the floor with a loud crash. _Ianto's going to kill me _was the last thought he had before he succumbed to the darkness and died.

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Gwen crept silently following where she thought she had seen Jack disappear. A shiver swept up her spine and she paused, turning her body around. _Oh god Ianto! What am I thinking? He's concussed and I'm following the trail of a man who can't die, instead of staying with the one who can! _She turned and started to head back, but something stopped her. She wanted to go and see Ianto, but the urge to find Jack had suddenly intensified. Almost against her will her body was turned and she was walking around the corner and though the same door Jack had entered only 10 minutes ago. Just like Jack had done before her, she fell through the floor, landing on something soft. "Jack!" She gasped, before the ceiling was raining down on top of her and knocking her out cold.

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Ianto frowned and listened harder. He could definitely hear the sound of feet. If he wasn't concussed he would have probably been more concerned and about the fact that he was standing in the middle of an elegant ballroom instead of an ancient, decrepit house. He watched silently and dumbfounded as a hundred or so people made their way into the room he was standing in. he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Sir, are you quite alright? You seem to have a nasty gash on your head." A woman, dressed in fine silk addressed him.

"Erm. Excuse me? Who are you, how did you get in here?" Ianto's head was spinning, _where am I? Am I still in the house?_

"Oh my! Surely you are joking sir? This is my father's house and I live here!" The woman giggled lightly and fanned herself. She looked Ianto up and down. "Just look at your clothes! This will not do! You must look your best for the ball! My papa said that I shall find a husband tonight, so everybody must look their best for me!" She hurried away leaving Ianto perplexed.

He watched her from across the room, talking to two men. She was stunning; he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before. Her hair was golden and wrapped intricately at the back of her head. Light whispers of hair had fell down, framing her face. Her face was perfectly symmetrical and the most beautiful he had ever seen. He didn't think he'd ever seen perfection before, until now. She turned suddenly and smiled the most amazing smile he'd ever seen, _god he was beginning to sound soppy. _She motioned for him to come over and the closer he got the more he took her in. Her dress grazed the floor and was pale yellow, complementing her hair, features and figure. Lace trimmed the top and he couldn't stop himself from taking her in.

"Now sir, can you kindly tell me your name? I do believe I'm not acquainted with all of my suitors yet." She asked kindly. Ianto drew his eyes away from her dress and looked her straight in her eyes, _green _he noted.

"Ianto, ma'am"

"Ianto, I like it, it has a nice ring to it. I'm Mary Wood of the infamous Wood family, but I'm quite sure you already knew that." Ianto nodded under the spell of her gaze. "These are my brothers, Jonathon" she pointed to one of the men "and Charles. They are going to give you some suitable clothes to wear, and I expect you down here shortly to dance the first dance with me!" After that Mary Wood had gone in a flurry of lace and excitement and Ianto was left following Charles and Jonathon up the stairs and into, what looked like one of the many bedrooms. _Huh this is new._

* * *

Jack woke with a gasp and turned to cough, that's when he felt the weight on top of him. He squinted in the darkness and saw the familiar face of Gwen Cooper curled up on top of him. "Gwen?" He all but shouted. She stirred and cracked open one of her eyes.

"Ouch!" She rubbed her head and rolled off of Jack. "What happened, why are we here?"

"I don't know. Well I know why _I'm _here. I fell down a whole after specifically telling you and Ianto to stay together! What I don't know is why you are here?" Gwen had the decency to look bashful.

"All I remember is waking up here Jack! I wouldn't have left Ianto without good cause!"

"Gwen you're going to have to remember." Jack stood up to check the room, there was a door but it was locked. "Anything may be able to help us at this point, think back to when I left."

Gwen closed her eyes and sifted through her memories. _Ianto, are you okay? You're looking a little pale. _"I remember Ianto wasn't looking too good."

Oh god, that's okay carry on, see if you can remember anything else."

Crash we heard a noise; we didn't know what it was, we didn't want to stay there like sitting ducks. Ianto told me it was okay to investigate, he said; 'Two guns are better than one'" Gwen wiped her eyes, she knew she shouldn't of left him! Thinking back he did look worse for wear. "So I gave him a peck on the cheek and left after you. Oh god I'm so sorry Jack! I don't know what I was thinking." Gwen looked to the floor. She was disgusted in herself, leaving an injured teammate.

"It's okay Gwen, listen to me we need to get out of here now! We need to get Ianto and get out of this house; I have a bad feeling about this place." Jack placed his hands on his hips.

"Wait! Jack I remember something else! I did turn back but then something came over me almost like a spell and I just had to get to you! I don't think it was even me controlling my feet!"

Jack looked, if it was possible, even more concerned. "Okay that's it!" He pointed to his gun which lay by Gwen's feet. "Pass me that please?" Gwen complied and watched as he shot through the lock in the door. "We're getting out of here!"

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Review?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Once again thank you for all the nice reviews :) Disclaimer is in the first chapter. It's totally unbeta-ed so any mistakes you might find are all mine!

Here's chapter 5 enjoy!

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Ianto followed Charles and Jonathon up the expansive stairs, stumbling every few steps. Now that he wasn't basking in the glow of Mary's personality and beauty he cleared his head, thoughts swirling. _Why am I here? Where is here? I'd say this is about the 19__th__ century, from all those books Lisa made me read, but where are Jack and Gwen? God I hope they're alright. _On top of everything thing else, he was positive he had concussion. He brought his hand to his head and found it sticky with blood, _that's not good._

Jonathon and Charles had come to a stop outside of, what Ianto presumed to be, a bedroom. Without uttering a word, they motioned for him to step inside, which he did, hesitating. Once inside he could barely stifle a gasp. The room was almost as large as his entire flat and decorated lavishly. The four poster bed was at the back of the room coated in gold paint. At least he imagined it to be paint. As he moved closer into the room, he took in more of his surroundings. The walls were pale green and complemented the bed perfectly. The bed in turn was covered with fine silk and covered with more pillows than he could count (though he probably wouldn't be able to count anything the way he was feeling). He turned to face the pair of brothers and he knew on his face was a look of disbelief and confusion.

"Pick out any of the clothes in the armoire over there and please have a bath, you smell disgusting." One of the brothers, _Charles?, _told him. Ianto frowned, _weren't people from the 19__th__ century supposed to be polite to guests. _Ianto nodded and thanked them both. Before they left, he all but shouted a question, "excuse me, I hope you don't mind me asking but what year is it?"

One of the brothers looked at him in pity, "It's 1863" and with that they were gone, leaving Ianto to his thoughts.

After the initial shock that he had somehow ended up in the 19th century he decided to have a bath quickly, realising that he did in fact smell terrible; _I need to make a good second impression on Mary. _He frowned. _Where the heck did that come from? _He quickly shoved thoughts of Mary to the back of his mind and stepped into the bathroom, pulling off his jacket and shirt. He took note of the large bronze bath in the middle of the room, but after 10 minutes, he still couldn't see where the water would come from. There was a knock on the door and it swung open.

Mary was stood in the doorway looking at him, he caught her gaze and she looked away blushing. "Sorry sir, it's just you were taking so long and I've been waiting for our dance… I just thought I'd come and see if you needed any help, I didn't know you were undressing." She backed out of the door but Ianto called her back in, uncertainly.

"Excuse me miss, I uhm, can't seem to locate the uhm… Well the water for my bath." It was Ianto's turn to blush. Mary giggled and stepped out of the room, leaving a confused Ianto in her wake. He'd barely moved when she came back in with two maids holding buckets of steaming water. _Oh, well I feel stupid. Of course there are no taps! _He turned away his face crimson. He heard Mary walk up to him and he could feel her breath on his neck. "I can't wait for our dance." She whispered, curtseyed and then she was gone. Shaking himself out of his reverie he quickly poured the water into the bath and slid inside. _How the heck am I going to get home? _He sighed and sunk lower into the steaming hot bath.

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Gwen was following Jack silently; feeling ashamed at what she had done even if it turned out it wasn't her fault. Jack however huffed every few seconds, because in their hurry to find some stairs and get out they had become lost and Gwen was sure they had been walking around in circles for half an hour. The house just hadn't looked that big from the outside. Jack stopped suddenly and Gwen walked into him mumbling an apology. He turned and started at her.

"Gwen, I've got a hunch I'm pretty sure it's this way." He indicated to the right. "So keep alert and stay behind me okay." Gwen nodded her head and grasped her gun tighter. They turned right and walked thought the darkness, after what seemed like hours they came to a stop in front of some old stairs and Gwen managed a quick thanks to Jack's lucky hunch. The damp was really getting to her. She would have run up the stairs if it wasn't for Jack motioning for her to stay behind him and keep quiet. Step by step they moved up the stairs until they reached the top and Jack, deciding he'd had enough of being quiet, kicked the door open. _Typical._ Gwen thought.

They made their way back through the shadows, to where they had both left an injured Ianto. Jack was deep in thought. _He'll be okay; I can't lose somebody else not after Tosh and Owen. _They rounded the final corner prepared for the worse, expecting to see Ianto passed out at they least. But the sight before them chilled them both to the bone. He was gone.

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Ianto dressed quickly excitement bubbling beneath his surface. During his bath he had surmised that, there was nothing he could do to get himself back, Jack would surely take care of that, so he might as well enjoy the time he was here. If that meant dancing with a beautiful woman in a beautiful house then he was willing to make the sacrifice. He grinned as he put the finishing touches to his outfit. It too, as almost everything in the house it seemed, was made of silk. His outfit was teal and as he imagined himself dancing with Mary he thought about how perfectly they would matched. He thought about himself twirling her and bringing her close and-

He shook himself out of his trance and brought his thoughts to Jack. He was sure that Jack hadn't been 100% faithful, in the short time they had been seeing each other, but he knew that it was hard for Jack being from the 51st century. Commitment wasn't exactly in Jack's genes. He frowned. He did love Jack, but he wasn't here and Mary was. She was beautiful and kind and had a wonderful smile. Before he knew it he had walked out of the door and was stood at the top of the stairs. _I guess I've made up my mind where Jack's concerned. _He started down the stairs and shivered, the last time he had been on these stairs he'd fell down them and got the concussion that still wracked his mind. He reached the bottom in no time at all and time seemed to move in slow motion. The crowds of people seemed to part and standing at the far end of the ballroom was Mary. She was looking at him the way Jack looked at him, when he was wearing his greatcoat and nothing else. Ianto swallowed and moved towards her.

"May I have this dance?" He extended his hand as the music started. She nodded and took his hand gently. To Ianto it didn't matter that his lover was somewhere in the future looking for him or that he didn't know how to dance this intricate dance, all that mattered was the woman stood in front of him reaching for his hand. He took it and was lead into the courtyard at the back of the house. Before he could react she was pulling his face down into a searing kiss. _Oh no, _he thought before he was swept up in the heat of the moment.

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	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for the comments, they are much appreciated! I'm not too sure about this chapter because I wrote it very late last night, but still I'd like any sort of comments to see what you think !

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Jack was muttering to himself, pacing back and forwards across the expansive room, whilst Gwen stood unmoving in the middle, guilt etched across her face. After only a minute of silence, Gwen decided to voice both of their concerns. "Jack, where is he? He was right here when I left to come find you! I just don't understand! Do you think he would have come looking for us after we didn't return?"

"Gwen! That's it! That's the answer! I can't believe we didn't just jump to that conclusion in the first place. Of course Ianto would come looking for us. He's not the type to just sit around and do nothing, injured or not. Not my Ianto."

"Okay then, so what do we do? Because splitting up last time is what got us in this mess." Jack was nodding his head vigorously, hope in his eyes.

"Okay so we stick together and we're going to have to remember that this place is a lot bigger than it looks. God he could be anywhere!" Jack's voice rose towards the end of his sentence, worry spreading across his features.

"Jack, let's be reasonable here. Ianto isn't an idiot, if he did follow us then he would have seen the broken floor boards and knew that we must be downstairs somewhere. This lowers the area that we have to look and we'll be able to find him quicker!" Gwen puffed out her chest in pride, but Jack was ignoring her. "Jack?"

"Don't you see it Gwen, we're missing the blaringly obvious!" Gwen frowned at him perplexed. He tapped his ear and she finally connected the dots in her head.

"Our Bluetooth!" Jack nodded grinning.

"Mine must have broken when I fell because I can't get anything from it. I can't even contact you and you're stood right next to me, so we're going to have to use yours."

Gwen reached up to tap the Bluetooth device at her ear. "Ianto it's me, Gwen, love can you hear me?" There was no reply. She turned to face Jack and shrugged. "Ianto, if you can hear me, now would be a really good time to speak up." Still there was no reply. She tapped her Bluetooth again and addressed Jack. "There was no reply, which means he's probably injured." She wiped a tear from her eye.

"Or it means that he's gone. Taken by the rift." Jack sighed rubbing a hand across his face, he suddenly felt very tired, the job was getting to him or maybe it was Ianto?

"Jack you're being absurd! The most logical reason is that he followed us and as much as I hate to say it passed out. He wasn't in the best condition when I left him!" Gwen's voice had started to rise.

"Well then Gwen, would you like to tell me why exactly you _did _leave him alone and injured? And this is Torchwood! You should have realised by now that it's never the most logical answer!" Jack had started to shout.

Meeting Jack's voice with her own, Gwen shouted back through tears. "I left him to find you! He told me to go, said he'd be fine! In hindsight I realise I shouldn't have left him! You know I tried to turn back but something stopped me! There's something in this house Jack! Maybe we shouldn't be screaming at each other and instead be trying to find Ianto!" Towards the end of her tirade her voice had dropped to a whisper.

"Your right Gwen, I'm sorry." He huddled her into his arms and wiped away her tears. "Before, when we first came in I noticed some sort of black mass hovering over Ianto. Then we were there and instead of disappearing it seemed to watch. So maybe whatever this black shape is has some sort of clue to where Ianto is?" Gwen nodded against his shoulder before pulling away and trying to compose herself.

"Okay, so what do we do?" She asked, biting at one of her manicured nails.

"Well, as we're assuming this shape is some sort of entity, I think it's safe to assume that it was protecting Ianto-"

"What? Why? How can we just assume that it wanted to protect Ianto! It could've been trying to kill him for all we know!" Gwen interrupted, waving her arms in a frenzy.

"Gwen! If you'd let me finish, I would have explained why! If this thing had wanted to hurt Ianto then it would have done and then quickly disappeared, instead it stayed there hovering near us."

"Okay I'm starting to see your logic now, but how do we get it to communicate with us?"

"Well, assuming that this entity likes Ianto for whatever reason, if we start bad-mouthing him and saying cruel things then I think that it's likely it will appear again."

Gwen seemed to finally see where Jack was coming from and started to nod her head enthusiastically. Jack winked at her and called out;

"Thank god that Ianto Jones is gone! He's such a waste of space, nothing but a tea-boy, just somebody to bring my coffee!"

* * *

Mary's lips were soft against Ianto's and he felt himself being drawn further and further into the kiss. Slowly grazing his tongue against her bottom lip he deepened the kiss, she gasped opening her mouth and allowing him access. He grabbed at her hips so she was flush against his body and in return gained a moan of appreciation. Her hands trailed up his back and threaded themselves though his short hair. The sound of glass shattering brought them apart. Ianto recoiled as if burnt by fire, whilst Mary gasped and straightened her dress.

"What is going on here?" A loud voice boomed. The man who had shouted turned to address the maid who had dropped the glasses. "What's the meaning of this? Girl you know that these are some of our finest glasses!"

The girl mumbled her apologies, curtseyed and quickly left to get a broom. The man, who was at least 6 foot with broad shoulders and a strong jaw-line, focused his attention on the dishevelled looking pair in front of him. He was not a stupid man and put two and two together easily.

"Mary child! I needn't ask what you were doing out here with this man. It's perfectly clear to a man of my importance. What's your explanation?" The man towered over Ianto and Mary and glared.

"Papa! I'm sorry you see myself and Ianto shared a kiss." Mary was quick to explain. _Oh god, I've fought Daleks and Cybermen and I'm going to die at the hands of a beautiful girls father. Ma always did say I'd end up being a ladies man. I thought she was wrong as well, when Jack came along. Jack! Now would be a good time to save me… _Ianto's thoughts trailed off as Mary's father took a step closer.

"Mary, do you plan on marrying Ianto?" _What? Of course not, please say no Mary…_

"Of course Papa! He's my suitor, we're _meant_ for each other" Mary looked at Ianto batting her eyelids; Ianto managed a weak smile in return.

"Well then! It's settled! You'll marry 2 days from now. I shall set it all up, have no fear darling." He gave Mary a kiss on the cheek and patted Ianto's back. "If you hurt my Mary, my boys will want a quiet night alone with you." He gave Mary another smile and walked back into the party announcing his daughter's engagement.

Beside Ianto, Mary grinned and gave him a peck on the lips. _Oh god Jack, where are you when I need you?_

_

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_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I really didn't think I was going to get this done. But once I started to write it didn't take that long. I'd just like to thank everybody who commented. And if you see any mistakes sorry, I did write it in a rush and it's un-betaed. Also the middle part of this story might end up being a sequel to my story friendship._

* * *

"_Thank god that Ianto Jones gone! He's such a waste of space, nothing but a tea-boy, just somebody to bring my coffee!"_

"Come on Gwen! Say something, Ianto isn't going to hold it against you!" Jack whispered, casting a weary glance across the room.

"Jack it doesn't feel right. He's my friend; I really don't think this is a good idea." She whispered back, looking through the darkness. Jack turned on his heel and stared her down.

"Gwen Cooper, if you have any other, better ideas you better tell me now!" Gwen was silent. "Right then, this is hard for me too you know. I care deeply for Ianto and screaming insults about him is not exactly my idea of fun. If this is the only way we have even a glint of hope at bringing him back then so be it. Think about all the jabs Owen used to give him. If it doesn't work then at least we tried, okay?" Gwen nodded solemnly and Jack turned back out to face the darkness.

Raising her voice slightly Gwen started. "Ianto Jones, let's face it he's nothing but your part-time shag Jack." Through the corner of her eye, she could see Jack flinch and instantly felt terrible. Jack didn't turn though just carried on with the conversation Gwen had started.

"You don't have to tell me that, I've had better sex with ghosts. Well actually there was this one time-" Gwen coughed and Jack closed his mouth. _Right Ianto to save now is not the time for anecdotes. No matter how great they might be. _His thoughts trailed off as he heard Gwen's next lie.

"Plus, he's an awful kisser!" Jack frowned and looked over at Gwen. She wasn't meeting his eyes, instead choosing to peer into the darkness. _Have Ianto and Gwen kissed or is she just making it up off the top of her head? _Jack felt a stab of jealously at the thought of Gwen and Ianto kissing. He grabbed her arm, pulled her aside and decided to be blunt. After all the quicker he got this off of his mind the quicker he could be completely focused on getting his Ianto back.

"Gwen, have you and Ianto ever kissed?" Gwen blushed, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

"Shouldn't we be trying to get Ianto back? This conversation can be continued later okay?"

"No it's not okay. When did this happen?"

Gwen knew that if she didn't tell him he wouldn't let it go and right now she just wanted Ianto back.

"It was just after Tosh and Owen had died, the same night actually. You were out brooding somewhere and Rhys just couldn't understand. So I went to Ianto's for a sleepover-" she frowned remembering the night. "He let me in of course and we went to sleep. I woke up screaming…"

_Gwen woke to a shaking of her shoulders and somebody desperately calling her name. She blinked back tears and sat up quickly, falling into Ianto's arms._

"_Shh, cariad it's okay it was just a nightmare. You're fine, you're fine. I'll keep you safe I promise."_

"He was so sincere jack and I was so selfish. Crying on him without a care in the world about what was going through his mind. He'd lost his friends as well." Jack kept silent so Gwen continued.

_Ianto's quiet words of comfort brought a new wave of tears to Gwen and she clung to him sobbing. When the tears finally started to subside, Gwen noticed that Ianto's hold hadn't given at all and he was still whispering comforting words to her._

_Gwen turned to look up at him and he smiled, tears in his eyes. Gwen instantly felt terrible. Here she was crying all over him, expecting comfort when she was just as upset, holding it all in._

"_Feeling better? It's best to let it all out I suppose" He smiled and wiped away her tears._

"I think it was just exhaustion, but all I wanted was to kiss Ianto's pain away. He's my best friend and I never want to see him like that. So I kissed him, kissed away the tears and the pain, if only for a while. Then things started to heat up and we realised what we we're doing. We must have laughed for hours. So that's it. Okay? I'd really like to get Ianto back now."

Jack was silent. Regret was shown across his face. Regret for being so jealous. Regret for making Gwen relive losing Tosh and Owen and regret for putting himself before finding Ianto. He pulled a crying Gwen into his arms and smiled "Good old Ianto."

"Yes, quite right. Good _old _Ianto." A voice from behind them, shocked Gwen and Jack and they jumped apart. Jack aimed his Webley at the figure's head.

"Who are you and what have you done with Ianto?"

* * *

Mary's father had rejoined the party and Ianto was left dumbfounded. Mary pulled his head down for another kiss, and he couldn't deny his _fiancé? _As Mary's soft lips moved against his, he figured that if he was stuck in the 1800's then he had better secure a place to live and regular food on the table. If that meant marrying a rich girl then so be it. He pulled away.

"Mary, do you think I could stay here. My father, uhm, recently passed away and left the house to my step-brother, who refuses to let me live there. That's why I showed up so unclean today." Ianto gave himself a mental high five and gave Mary his best puppy dog eyes.

"Of course you can my love! That's just terrible. I'll make sure papa doesn't invite him to the wedding." She grabbed his hand and started to pull him inside. "If I recall, I don't remember us finishing our dance." She smiled at him and he found himself lost in her eyes. _Marrying her won't be so bad. I could have the life I would've had with Lisa if she hadn't of died. Just in the 1800's. Could I really live here? Away from my family and friends. Away from the danger and destruction. Away from jack?_ He shook his head and moved away from Mary and all the other dancers. He needed time to think. To process what he was thinking. He ignored Mary's shout of protest and ran up the stairs into the room he had begun this charade in.

"Oh god, oh god" He grabbed his head and began to pace wildly. All the thinking was making his head hurt. He continued pacing, thinking about Lisa and Jack and what could've been and what could be. He was starting to feel nauseous and he swayed dangerously. _Maybe I should sit down for a moment_ he thought before crumpling to the floor.

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	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Okay, there isn't a lot of plot development in this chapter straight away. I figure I've got one or two chapters left. And I may do a sequel if people want it! Just so every one is away I don't own Romeo or Mr Darcy… Although… if I did, it'd be one hell of a party! I hope this chapter satisfies!_

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Ianto woke to a cold compress being pressed against his forehead. It felt wonderful and he found himself sighing deep into the silk pillows. _Wait a minute, I don't have silk pillows, _he thought and that's when the memories bombarded his mind. The last thing he remembered was pacing in on of the vast rooms of the wood household. Through the fog of his thoughts he heard a voice.

"Ianto dear can you hear me?" Mary's melodic voice ran in his ears and he let out a loud groan. He'd almost forgotten his concussion, with all the dancing and kissing. "Oh thank the lord! I was so worried for you; I was just about to send for a doctor!" The last statement finally roused Ianto from his mind and fully into awareness.

"I really don't think I need a doctor." He managed to cough out. "I think it was just a funny turn." _I really don't need a doctor from the 1800's messing me up even more than I am. _He sat up, not realizing how dizzy he was and felt straight into Mary's awaiting arms, with a groan.

"Are you sure you're alright darling?" _We've only known each other 5 minutes and she's calling me darling? Well I suppose I am her fiancé. _He cringed and nodded. Mary guided Ianto back down and covered him with the pale green throw. "Well, you can just take it easy here. The party is almost over now, so I'll be back up shortly." She gave him a peck on the lips and hurried out of the room, her golden blond hair had fallen out of her elegant up do and flowed behind her. Ianto frowned; maybe he was starting to understand how people could fall in love so easily and quickly. He knew that he already felt extreme attraction towards Mary, no man would be able top resist her, but was he in love? _Maybe it's some sort of love of convenience. I've only been here a day and I have no way of knowing whether I'll get back to Jack and Gwen. _He sighed; he had a lot of thinking to do.

Before he could get into any serious thinking, Mr Wood sauntered into his room. "Ahh Ianto, I've been meaning to have a word with you. My daughter said you had a nasty turn. Are you okay?" Ianto could only nod in response. "Well then, on to the serious business!" _Maybe he'll scream at me and tell me I can't marry his precious daughter, but of course I can stay here with him. Ahh a perfect world. _"I won't be too long; I know you'll need your rest as the wedding draws near. I just wanted to know if you had anybody invitations need to be sent out to."

"I, uhm… No, no I don't sir." _Not in this time period anyway._

"Oh good! Well then, because all of the guests have been invited-" At Ianto's look of confusion Mr Wood, felt the need to clarify. "Tonight at the party, I invited all of our friends and acquaintances, now the wedding can proceed tomorrow." He patted Ianto on the back and smiled. Ianto was in shock. _I'm not even sure if I want to marry this woman, I've only known her a day! What can I say? Okay I'm in the 1800's, think about those books Lisa made you read. Pride and something… Prejudice that's it! Okay, so Darcy won't marry her because of money? Hmm... I don't think so; anyway that's what I'll go for. Maybe they won't want this marriage to continue if they think I'm poor._

"Sir, before you go, I have a confession to make. I have no money, not a single penny." Ianto thought it was best to just blurt it out. Damn the consequences!

Mr Wood hesitated for a moment, and then continued to speak. "That's fine. My daughter shall marry who she wants! You can work for me. I'm sure I'll find something suitable to a man of your… Stature." Mr Wood, then stood ad strolled out of the room. Ianto frowned and rose from the bed. His head was already feeling a lot clearer. _Maybe I could go to Mary and explain that I'm not from this time and I can't marry her. _He shook his head. _That would just get me a one way ticket to the doctor. _He sighed and suddenly felt tires again. _I'll just get some sleep and see what tomorrow brings.  
_

* * *

"_Who are you and what have you done with Ianto!"_

Jack peered into the darkness, his gun still out in front of him. Behind him Gwen was poised and ready to strike.

"I said, who are you?!" Jack shouted. At first there was silence and then a cold chill swept through the room. Gwen shivered and rubbed her arm.

"I've not got a good feeling about this Jack." She whispered. Jack shushed her.

"Well?" He shouted once again into the darkness. A figure started to materialise in front of them. At first it was just a bright light, but the colder it got the more defined the lines of the figure became. Jack could tell that they were dealing with a woman, because of the figures fantastic shape.

Gwen squinted through the light. She gasped as the woman in front of her became more defined. The woman/ghost was beautiful. Dressed elegantly and with long golden, blonde hair, she was the most attractive woman she'd ever seen. The woman smiled sadly and Gwen looked into her eyes. Pain. That's all that Gwen could see. Pain coupled with sadness, she hoped to never feel like that in her life. She didn't even think losing Owen and Tosh brought her the amount of pain that she could see in the woman's eyes. The pain that she could see, Gwen decided, could only be caused by the death of somebody's soul mate. The one person in the world who could make that person complete. Gwen instantly felt sorry for the woman. She'd obviously lost her Mr Darcy, her Romeo, her Rhys. She looked away from the woman's eyes and to Jack.

Jack had also been looking at the woman. He also saw the pain and he also felt for the woman. He'd felt pain like that twice, once when his wife Estelle had died and once when he'd seen Rose's name on the list of the dead at Canary Wharf. He sighed, he didn't want to feel that pain again and so levelled his gun. "Where. Is. Ianto?"

A lone tear fell from the woman's eye. "Ianto." She said. "Has gone."

Silence followed her statement and Gwen gasped. _What does she mean gone? Is he…Dead? Or gone somewhere else. We need more information! Since Jack doesn't seem up to talking, I'll take the plunge._ "What do you mean gone? Gone where? How do you even know him?"

The young woman looked at them both in pity. "Ianto Jones caused my death."

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	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I _think _that this story is finished. I might do an epilogue or just do a sequel. Review me saying what you'd like! Anyway, I hope this clears up a few things and if anything is confusing, just review or PM me. :)

I hope that you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. So here it is Chapter 9!

Disclaimer = First chapter

Mistakes = Mine = not beta-ed !

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Tomorrow came much too soon to Ianto, who woke to brilliant sunlight streaming through the windows in his expansive room. _Oh god today is my wedding day, _he thought as he rubbed his eyes blearily. He looked around the room; _at least Mary didn't stay over. _He thought about rolling out of bed, but thought better of it in the end. After all the sooner he got out of bed the sooner he'd have to get married. _I never thought that I'd be living in the 1800's, about to marry a girl I don't even though and all I can think about is how I'd kill for a toothbrush right about now. What should I wear? What does one wear when they're about to get married in the 19__th__ century? _There was a knock on his door and he frowned. _God, if this is one of her brothers about to lecture me, then I swear I'll – _a voice cut through his thoughts.

"Hello? May I enter?" _Greaatt Mary again. Just what I need._

"Sure, come on in, I was just going to take a bath." Ianto answered coldly. _I don't know what's up with me, one minute I want to marry her and the next minute I'm dismissing her just as quickly. _Ianto turned around and remembered why he had wanted to marry her in the first place. Her hair fell in ringlets around her shoulders and down to her waist, her eyes sparkled in the sunlight and her smile widened as she looked at him.

"I could help you with that if it would please you? I know how you had trouble with it yesterday" Ianto thought she may have a secret agenda, so profusely declined. The twinkling smile left her face and she turned to go abruptly. Ianto immediately felt guilty and shouted out.

"Actually, I do have a question. When does the uhm, wedding begin? So I can be ready for you." She turned and smiled at him again.

"I thought papa would have told you. They ceremony is scheduled to begin in an hour. I'll see you down the stairs in the ballroom; your outfit is in the wardrobe." Ianto turned to look at the wardrobe and when he turned back she was pressed against him. "Ianto Jones. I love you." She pulled him down for a kiss. When they broke several minutes later, she was staring at him expectantly.

"I uh, love you too. I think that we're soul mates, there's nobody else for me but you" _oh crap, did I overdo the lovey stuff. She might not believe me. Just breathe Ianto, oh god she's starting to cry. She knows that I don't love her!_

"Oh Ianto! I never thought about it like that! You're right! You _are _the only one for me!" She hugged him tightly and wiped at her eyes. "Look at me! I'm a mess. I'll see you soon!" She hugged tight once more and left in a flurry of skirts. Ianto was able to breathe a sigh of relief and collapsed backwards onto the bed. For the first time since he left, he truly started to miss Jack and Gwen. So much had been going on, and he was still recovering from a likely concussion so he hadn't given them much thought. But all this talk of soul mates had really got him to start thinking. Was Rhys Gwen's soul mate? Was Jack his? Or had his been Lisa? Were they all just floating aimlessly, wandering until they bumped into another wanderer and became intertwined, if only for a short while. He carried on thinking, about various things, Torchwood, Tosh and Owen and Lisa, and before he knew it half an hour had passed. _Oh god! I don't want her brothers to castrate me if I don't show up. _He rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom. _Time to have a bath._

25 minutes later and Ianto was washed, dried and dressed (in a ridiculously frilly and foul suit) and it was time to make the dreaded walk into marriage. _I never thought I'd have to do this, especially dating Jack. _A young child knocked on the door and beckoned Ianto with a small finger. _This is it then, I'm being escorted into probably the worst decision in my life, by a very, very young child, wielding petals. _Ianto approached the top of the stairs. All he had to do was go down the stairs and then wait for Mary to come waltzing up the aisle. It sounded easy in theory; it was the practise he was worried about. He reached the top of the stairs and the little girl beckoned him to go first. He started down the stairs, throwing a weak smile at the girl.

_1 stair_

_2 stairs_

_3 sta-_

Ianto stumbled and looked down. His foot had caught on one of the stems of the flowers that lined the stairs. He continued down.

_4 stairs _

_5 stairs_

_6 sta-_

The next thing he knew he was falling and shouting and trying to get a grip on anything, but there was nothing and he hit the ground with a thud. Before succumbing to the darkness he desperately sought, he felt a soft caress on his face and a voice whispering _Ianto_.

* * *

_The young woman looked at them both in pity. "Ianto Jones caused my death."_

Jack and Gwen were shocked into silence for what seemed like hours, before Jack finally spoke up. "That's ridiculous! Ianto wouldn't kill somebody, unless they had done something terrible. He _isn't _like that!" Gwen was nodding ferociously at his side.

"If you recall sir, I did not utter the words 'Ianto Jones murdered me' because he did not."

"Well then how did he cause your death?" Gwen blurted out before looking away embarrassed. _I can't believe that I'm talking to a ghost and I'm considering it normal!_

"Alas, he disappeared on our wedding day and was declared dead. And I, or course, could not live in a world where Ianto did not exist. Not after I had had a taste of life with him. And so, soon after he was declared dead I went to his room, lay in his bed and stabbed a knife through my stomach. I expected to be reunited with him in death, I imagined him to be waiting for me, but he was not and so I've stayed in this house ever since! Imagine my surprise when he walks in one day, looking terribly frightened and alone. I'm afraid that it was me who caused him to fall down the stairs. I must have shocked him. I was so ecstatic to be reunited with him again after almost 250 years!"

Jack and Gwen looked at each other in confusion. Jack didn't understand what this ghost was talking about. _How could Ianto have been marrying her 250 years in the past, only to disappear? Maybe it was somebody who looked like Ianto, and just happened to have the same name. _"Where is he now then? You said that you pushed him down the stairs, then what happened?"

"You and your partner came in and saw to him before I had a chance. I watched from the corner. I saw you looking at me, but thought better to expose myself. Then you both left him. Left him injured and in pain and so I took it upon myself to look after him. I started towards him and he disappeared! Right in front of my eyes! And of course you know the rest."

Jack thought to himself, whilst Gwen tried to extract more information from the entity. _Ianto must have gotten caught in some sort of time loop. It must have been the rift. The ghost said that Ianto disappeared back then as well, so maybe the rift sent him back or to another time completely? If it did where is he?_

There was a loud crash suddenly and all three of them turned to look towards the stairs. The ghost was the first to move, gliding swiftly over to the foot of the stairs, Jack and Gwen close behind. The ghost hovered over the body which lay in a heap and stroked its face. "Ianto" she whispered. "You've come back to me."

Jack and Gwen looked at each other in concern, before bending down and each taking one of Ianto's hands. Ianto was going to have a hard time explaining this one.

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That button right there and down a bit-------------------


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